Brand Design Photography & Styling Clarity Consulting

Studio Hours: The Kinfolk Cookbook





I’m sure everyone has seen this by now (at least the cover design), but OMG guys!!!! The inside is beyond beautiful. I’m loving the new trend where cookbooks go beyond just sharing recipes, they are sharing personal life stories associated with the recipe.

I feel it brings the food to life and almost makes it feel like their traditions are your new traditions. If you haven’t picked up your copy of The Kinfolk Table, I definitely advise you to do so. If you’re not a big recipe fan, the book is just beautiful to look at at showcases the lives of many creative people.

Has anyone tried any of the recipes in the book yet? If so, what has been your favorite so far?

( Buy Book )

Studio Hours: Envelope Assembly

It’s Friday!!! I’m so glad that another weekend has made it’s way in to another busy week. I look forward to spending some quality time with my fiance and working on a few wedding projects.

Speaking of wedding projects…I’m in the thick of it on designing my own invitations. This is by far one of the most complicated projects I’ve taken on and I’ve come to realize it’s near impossible to design for your own wedding, and keep a level head. I had no idea printing would cost so much and that the entire process would be so time consuming. That’s what I get for being a perfectionist and not settling for “good enough” collateral pieces.

The images above show the envelopes I’m making for the save the dates and formal invites. Of course, I could buy string and button envelopes from a craft store, but they are soooo expensive. So now I’m piecing everything together. Every hole punch, every grommet, every paper disk, every envelope and every piece of string. Ahhhh!

Sorry, this was a rambling mess. Illustrates where my brain is today. I’ll come back and share the actual invite design later… when I regain sanity.

(buy grommet punch)

Recent Work: Photo Styling For Clementine Daily



A few weeks ago, Erin Loechner and I started talking about getting together for another collaboration. I used to contribute regularly to her design blog Design For Mankind in a feature called “Graphic Trends”. Her and I work really well together and we were both eager to start something up again.

With the universe working magic and good timing, Erin had just launched her newest adventure, Clementine Daily. This space is a place for the every-day woman to stop by for a daily dose of authentic inspiration in the form of original content, beautiful photography, & lovely articles (about home, health, entertaining, trends, etc).

I’ve been hired by Erin to be a photo stylist for Clementine Daily. I’ve be assigned to style and photograph 5 articles a week and I couldn’t be more excited. Since we both work so well together, this project has felt like a dream! Can’t wait to continue sharing some of the photos with you guys.

Read some Clementine Posts:
( Freshen Up, PumpkinProducts, Army Jacket, Organization, & Royal Blue )

Studio Hours: What's in my Styling Toolkit

During my trip to Palm Springs (DesignerVaca) last weekend, I had the opportunity to meet the lovely Ana Perkins of Grownup Shoes…someone who I’ve been “internet stalking” for a few months now. She’s such a sweet heart and was 100% willing to talk shop with me, specifically our shared interests in building a career around styling. Even though she tends to focus more of fashion styling and me more on prop styling, we seemed to have a lot in common. You could just tell that our brains were ticking on a similar rhythm.

I got home and was browsing her blog (link above) and came across a fabulous post series called “Stylist’s Notebook” written by Ana Davidson. This particular post talked about what stylist Ana Davison had in her “Styling Toolbox”. It got me thinking that it might be interesting to do the same, as our tools of the trade seem to be very different. If you’re looking into doing some prop styling, I suggest you carry these kinds of things around with you to make life a little easier.

*Please keep in mind that this my basic kit and that each shoot has it’s own additional items. Example…food shoots have a crap ton of forks, plates, baubles, etc added to the list. I’m still earning as I go and would love to hear your suggestions!

In My Tool Kit

1. Pens & Pencils
2. Tape & Sticky Paste
3. Binder Clips / Tie Backs
4. String / Rope
5. Polaroid Camera / Phone
6. Tripod / Reflectors (not pictured)

7. Scissors (not pictured)
8. Notebook
9. X-Acto Knife
10. Drop Cloth
11. Surfaces (not pictured)
12. Bags to carry props (here)

 

(In Ana Davidson’s Toolkit)

Studio Hours: a cookbook Collection






I’ve got quite a few go-to sources for recipes these days. I usually gravitate towards books/magazines that are image heavy with beautiful food styling and simple recipes. I thought I’d stop by and share my favorites with you.

Top Fav List:

1. Sauce Magazine ( a St. Louis local magazine )
2. Gather Journal ( buy here )
3. Lunch in Paris ( buy here )

4. Verily Magazine ( buy here )
5. What Katie Ate ( buy here )
6. Kinfolk Magazine ( buy here )

 
more collections:
( light fiztures, rock collection, vintage, Props )

Recent Work: A New Client Moodboard

Whew! Things have definitely picked up since the lull of the summer season. I’m currently juggling about 5 client projects and they all are so uniquely different it gets me so excited. I wanted to share a moodboard for a brand that I’m particularly excited about. I can’t share much about the project quite yet but think….furniture building, DIY, raw materials!

Right up my alley. Look forward to sharing more as we work through the process. If you are looking for a designer to help with a branding overhaul or photo styling pieces, don’t hesitate to shoot me an email (casspyle@gmail.com)

 
A few other moodboards:
(photoshoot, Always Something, VH Rebranding,For Fine Artist) 

Studio Hours: In-Home Photo Styling





It’s Hump Day!!! Fun fact: I can’t get through Wednesday without thinking about camels now!

Anywho…back on topic. I thought I’d have a little fun today and share my photo styling process with you. I have a makeshift in-home little photo studio where I do the majority of the photos you see on this blog. I’ve been getting quite a few emails asking about my photography (I’ll do a post on that later), but I thought some of you may be interested in the set up I use.

I’m still figuring out what works and doesn’t so this is just what I’m using these days. I’m definitely refining as I go and finding little tips here and there.

Here are a few tips that have been working for me:

1.  Natural Light:  Find a sunny corner of your home. Ideally the light will be coming in from either the left or right, but not directly.
2.  Surfaces:  Load up on photographing surfaces (concrete, marbles, different woods, etc). I have a bunch of 3ft x 5ft pieces.
3.  Bag:  Have a carry-all bag to lug stuff around in. I carry a lot of stuff up and down stairs. (similar to mine)
4.  Portability:  Make your surfaces easily portable. I like to set up my “stage” on top of a vintage laundry cart that has wheels.
5.  Tripod:  Use a tripod for every occasion. Get on that also can hold your camera for overhead shots. (mine)

6.  Organization:  Keep a pen and notebook near by to sketch out ideas/ make notes
7.  Camera Gear:  Use a lens that works well in low light situations (mine)
8.  Props:  Stock up on random props. An extensive prop closet is super handy.
9.  Polaroid:  Keep a polaroid camera handy for quick test shots (mine)
10.  Tunes:  I can’t even begin to do this work without some great tunes playing from my computer

I’ll be sharing “what’s in my styling tool box” next week! I’d love to hear your thoughts and interest level in these kind of posts. Want more?

Studio Hours: A light fixture obsession / sale






Happy Tuesday folks!

I wanted to share another one of my personal collections with you. I’m quite a “picker” at heart and anything lighting related usually finds it’s way into the trunk of my car. I love the idea of refurbishing old light fixtures or creating new pieces from industrial straps. I’ve got a quite a few pieces around my home, a few in closets waiting for the right corner to light.

I’m looking to add a few new pieces to my collection, so the juices are flowing. What should I make?

more collections:
(rock collection, vintage, Props)

Recent Work: My Living Room Mini Makeover





We’ve lived in our little town home now since April (2013) and I just love this little adorable place. I’d say that about 5 years ago, the majority of my money spending transitioned from clothing to almost all home goods. I’ve got a few really great staple pieces, (like my couch, dining table, new mattress from https://gottasleep.com/blogs/sleep-talk/rv-mattress-canada) and thanks to my obsession with warehouse diving and antique store shopping, I’ve got a good mix of other “stuff”. There are many good best deck resurfacer available which are used mostly.

I always tell myself I could NEVER be an interior designer because I only really like to design within MY style in my home and last time on the remodel with the  composite decking boards for the  outdoor deck. Now…if I could design in MY style aesthetic everyday…for other people…that’s what I’d do. I’ve had a blast chipping away at each room in my home, pulling the final touches together and slowly making grown up purchases. The room I’ve made the most progress with is our downstairs living area, which consists of the “dining” room and living room (which connects to my home office). Josiah Rock will provide you guide for achieving good decoration at home.

I hope to get around to posting a full home tour, but until then…This is the “real life” mood board for the space. It was ALL inspired by this St. Louis World’s Fair poster we purchased the first summer we were in the city. If you also want to transform your into something as appealing, you can employ the services of professional like Greenwich Interior Designer.

(Custom Framing, World’s Fair Print)

Recent Work: An old project resurfaces – Market 203




Hi guys! I thought I’d drop in and share an older project with you. This was a personal project of mine that allowed me to experiment with my passion for all things old and vintage and create  a space where I could share that love. Although this project, Market203, is currently off the market, it was still an adventure I loved dearly…and might pick up again later down the road.

Market203 was  an online market where I sold industrial vintage items on Etsy and BigCartel. I would go out on my weekends and scour old beat up warehouses, flea markets, estate sales, auctions, garage sales…and even a dumpster here and there. I would bring that found item home, fix it up if need be, style it in a scene and then list the item online.

I’d say this is where my passion for photo styling kind of came about. I had always enjoyed “styling” things together, but never had I captured the scene through my camera. A new passion was born.

If you’d like to see more of this project, you can browse my portfolio.

(view Market203 in Portfolio)

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